


paris

by i_was_human



Category: Lost in Translation (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Idk this is weird, Inspired by Paris (The Chainsmokers), M/M, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Secret Relationship, can be read as platonic or romantic, idk if this is angst or fluff but it makes me uwu, lapslock, the one where i introduce canon to my baseball bat because i love dongsung too much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:36:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27295042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_was_human/pseuds/i_was_human
Summary: he taps the bed by his side, and minsung collapses into his arms, his own winding around his back and face coming to rest against his chest, and he doesn't know if he'd call it love - doesn't know if he'd call it anything more than emotional glue - but it's desperate, symbiotic, andoh, they need each other.or: dongho and minsung, isac, and the aftermath
Relationships: Kang Dongho | D.Min & Lee Minsoo, Kang Dongho | D.Min & Lee Minsung, Kang Dongho | D.Min/Lee Minsung
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	paris

there is hope, and there is betrayal.

hope, because, even as rough and scratched and torn as his heart is, it still works.

betrayal, because.

well.

it claws at his chest, sometimes - the realization that he's betraying his best friend by doing this - but minsung's looking at him with those dull, limp eyes, and his breath catches in his throat, because _it's always been like this_.

twin comets hurtling towards earth - meeting at the apex, and now in free-fall.

there's a bruise on minsung's wrist.

dongho doesn't comment on it.

instead, he taps the bed by his side, and minsung collapses into his arms, his own winding around his back and face coming to rest against his chest.

this is their song and dance, by now.

he doesn't know if he'd call it love - doesn't know if he'd call it anything more than _emotional glue_ \- but it's desperate, symbiotic, and _oh_ , they need each other.

minsung fits in his arms just like he always has - just like he did back when minsoo was in the hospital and there was nothing but two boys clinging to each other and hoping not to lose their brother or best friend - and dongho's hand comes up to rest in his hair, fingers toying with the damaged strands.

they don't speak.

minsung cries.

minsung always cries, when the days are like this - when it's so late it's early, when minsung shows up with a bag and red eyes and _desperation_ flickering in his eyes - and dongho simply holds him and strokes his hair, because _he knows how it feels_ \- not being able to hold it together for a moment longer - so he lets minsung break and then slowly, painstakingly, picks up the pieces.

(he can't help but feel like he misses a few every time.)

and when he breaks, minsung's there, ready to provide a ledge to break this endless free-fall for an instant, and it should scare him, the extent to which they need each other, but it _doesn't_.

here, there's no family, no pressure, no anything.

just two people breaking in company.

* * *

minsoo tells them the story of minsung stealing his song, and dongho's heart claws at his ribs.

can he explain it? no.

does he need to find a way to? yes.

he can't even pinpoint when it started. it must've been back when minsoo was hooked up to wires and tubes, back when they were still looking for the driver, back when minsung started crying in the hallway because minsoo was going to die hating him and dongho sat by his side and pulled him close.

it must've started then.

and oh, isn't it funny how it continued?

dongho has his own apartment, after all, though it's as much minsung's as it is his - clothes left here and there, a toothbrush, a stuffed animal, memories - and his life has somehow intertwined itself with minsung's in a way he never anticipated. 

his contact list, his memories, the times he'll slip over to sa1nt's dorm for game nights-

what are they?

there are the moments where it's minsung and dongho, two friends from long-ago catching up, and there are the times where it's sa1nt and dongho, a contraband relationship that has the potential to start a fandom war, and then there's _minsunganddongho_ , the two of them curled up so tight it's impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins.

he doesn't know if he loves minsung. never thought about it.

but his arms feel like home. 

isn't that enough, in the end?

and minsoo's talking about it - talking about how minsung betrayed him and ruined his life - and all dongho can think is _are you so unhappy with where you are now?_

minsoo is his best friend, but minsung is his home.

this is a contradiction he cannot reconcile.

* * *

when he sees sa1nt at isac, they act like strangers.

youngjoon - youngjoon, who he's worked out with and sat in silence with and shared cat photos with - stares at daehyun like he's hung the moon, and kyunghun - kyunghun, who he's had coffee with and shared exasperated glances with and stayed up until three am due to nightmares with - observes them like they're nothing to him. behind him, taeseok - tiny, tiny taeseok, who he met as a kid and who's grown so much to get to where he is now - bounces on the balls of his feet, and hyunjin - hyunjin, who cried when dongho talked to him in english and who loves australia deeply and who told dongho to use one of his sleeping bags because "he looked like he wasn't getting enough sleep" - is fiddling on his phone, earbuds snaking out of his ears, and minsung-

minsung's looking at him.

dongho holds his gaze for an instant, and a silent understanding passes between them - _not now, not where people can see_.

the thing about homes is that nobody else can see inside.

the thing about homes is that minsung is just as broken as dongho, and they're holding each other together through sheer force of fucking will.

the thing about today is that minsung is going to break down either way.

dongho's gaze drifts back to minsoo - back to his little brother, his best friend - and _betrayal_ roars hot in his gut.

he cannot have this.

(god, he needs to have this.)

* * *

he takes down taeseok easily.

it's not difficult - taeseok is small, and he is weak, and he doesn't put up a fight, instead opting to look into dongho's eyes with that _"i-trust-you-not-to-lie-to-me-this-time"_ look, and _oh_ , dongho's conscience feels like it's being torn in two.

he doesn't hurt him.

could never hurt taeseok.

if daehyun is his younger brother, than taeseok is - is his fucking _grandchild_ or something, because _god_ , the kid was so small when they met, is so small now, and even though he's only a year younger than daehyun, he's been in this for so much longer. 

fourteen.

fourteen, and taeseok's grinning at him like dongho's won a marathon, pink hair sprawled over the mats, and dongho's reminded painfully of the time taeseok and hyunjin put a crown on his head and declared him the sixth member of sa1nt because _"he comes over so often, minsung-hyungie, it's only fair!"_ and minsung's expression twisted - though whether it was with amusement or discomfort, dongho never found out.

he's getting sidetracked.

he helps taeseok up, pats a bit of his hair back into place, and minsoo looks furious, so he steps away.

_"they're the enemy! why are you helping the enemy!"_

_they're not the enemy_ , dongho nearly cries, _because i was there when taeseok cried about how homesick he was and i was there the first time he beat kyunghun in a console game and i was there the week before debut when taeseok said we'd have to catch up to him and-_

it doesn't matter to minsoo.

it should - should be about more than minsoo's own desires - but in the end, isn't that what dongho's doing?

he's being selfish.

minsung hurt minsoo and ruined his life and dongho's being selfish.

he almost doesn't care anymore.

* * *

minsung's scrolling through his phone when he walks in, dongho's hoodie hanging off one shoulder and legs splayed over the blankets. he raises his head, blinking a silent "hello", and dongho arches a brow - _do you need to talk, or can i?_

minsung, the fucking saint (ha) he is, simply pats the bed next to him, and dongho takes a seat, leaning over to rest his cheek on minsung's hair.

for a long moment, neither of them say a word.

minsung's scrolling through twitter, liking and retweeting seemingly at random, and dongho presses his nose into his hair, inhaling the scent of strawberry and bubblegum.

his thoughts are a storm - never-ceasing, never-quieting, ready to pick up any poor passerby and hurl them into an endless abyss - and minsung must sense he's thinking in metaphors, because he switches off his phone, placing it on the side table before pulling dongho's head into his lap.

this position would be humiliating with anyone or anywhere else, but as it is, minsung's fingers coax tangles out of dongho's wet hair, and it feels like he can breathe.

"do you want to talk about it?" minsung asks, and _no, he doesn't_ , because that first rule - the thing they agreed to at the start of this - violates this entirely, and dongho _doesn't want to let go_.

he closes his eyes instead, relaxing into minsung's touch, and for a long moment, this is all that exists.

minsoo's no doubt texting him to ask where he is, and the rest of mayhem must be worried, but there is minsung and there is dongho, and for the moment, they are home.

**Author's Note:**

> this is not beta'd or reread or anything and it probably contradicts itself like 87598235789347892 times but i enjoyed it so i hope you did too
> 
> fic inspired by paris - the chainsmokers
> 
> [twit](https://twitter.com/i_was_human_) | [lit fic discord!](https://discord.gg/CNunB74)


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